If you have children between the ages of eight and 11 then you may want to sit down before you read this.

For a festive study has revealed that this age group are the most expensive to buy for and that the most popular presents will set parents back over £800!

With the festive frenzy upon us, MyVoucherCodes has also conducted a study looking into Christmas spending.

It reveals that the cost of the Top 10 Christmas Toy List for 20171 is a whopping £829 on average2 – 4.6 times more than what kids estimate their parents will spend this season.

Furthermore, the study reveals that eight to 11 year olds are the most expensive to buy for, with the cost of the Top 10 Christmas Toy List for that age group coming in at £684 – 12% more than 12 to 14 year olds.

In addition, 1,000 children were surveyed nationwide to find out how much they really know about mummy and daddy’s Christmas spending habits.

When asked how much parents spend on gifts, boys gave a slightly higher estimate (£187) than girls (£176) – both still hundreds off the true cost. Interestingly, children in the North East believe they have the most money spent on them (£241.02), compared to children in the South East, who estimate the smallest spend (£153.95).

They say honesty is the best policy, but the survey reveals just one in five kids would admit to their parents if they didn’t like what they found under the tree on Christmas morning.

Brighton’s kids are revealed to be the most honest with 44% saying they would tell their parents if they disliked a gift. However, kids in Cardiff would prefer to hide the truth from their old folks – just 10% would admit if they weren’t happy with a gift.

Chris Reilly, Managing Director of MyVoucherCodes said: “The disparity between what children think parents spend on gifts at Christmas compared to what they actually spend is significant. Be sure to save money this year by looking online and searching around for the best deals."

MyVoucherCodes has also recorded a cheeky festive take on a typical news channel’s paper review, but instead of relying on adult reviewers, they have children flicking through the papers… or in this case, Christmas toy catalogues. The full press release is below, but let me know if you have any questions or if you think this might run.

The three short videos, aimed at helping parents choose the right gifts for their kids this Christmas, are split into age categories; 5 to 7, 8 to 11 and 12 to 14. They show adorable children reviewing their favourite picks from the 2017 Christmas toy catalogues and features TV presenter, Jemma Forte.

The adage “Never work with children or animals” proves to be true, with chaos ensuing: kids running riot through the studio, Nerf Guns aimed and ready to be fired and quarrels over what toy should be crowned top!